


Art Forms

by hapufini



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Based on my own headcanons, Can be read as a bromance or pre-relationship, Gen, I choose bromance they're Bros, Mina is slightly OOC, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 13:24:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10438659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hapufini/pseuds/hapufini
Summary: When Ilima is starting to think about what to do after he turns 20, he turns to art like his parents, but he doesn't really know how to draw at all. He cuts a deal with a strange, moody trial captain to help him and somehow befriends her.





	

Ilima was completely and utterly stuck.

Being from Kalos, a region filled with art and beauty, his parents were respectable artists. He, however, had never really gotten into it. He'd always preferred battling and occasionally writing as an outlet for expression, but as he got older, he was faced with a daunting question— what would happen once he turned 20?

He was nearly 18 now, which meant there were only about two years before he was left unemployed. He could continue battling, but what purpose would it serve? He was far too old to challenge the trials. He could help teach at the Trainer's School, perhaps, but he'd never been very good with younger children.

Naturally, he turned to his parents for advice, and they both immediately recommended pursuing art. Despite Ilima's inner boredom with the subject, he smiled and nodded in agreement, promising to take a crack at it in his spare time. Besides, it couldn't be so bad, could it?

That was what he told himself, but when he finally had the chance to settle at his desk and had the pencil in hand, he couldn't think of a single thing to draw. Moreover, when he finally had a burst of creativity (battling— could you believe it!), it was completely embarrassing. It looked like a toddler drew it, and he could barely draw more than a stick figure.

His mother had poked her head into the room as soon as he was about to crumple it up and throw it into the garbage. She clapped her hands together and demanded to see it, and Ilima only gave her a practiced smile and said he would when he was finished with it. She had laughed, said she knew how that felt, and closed the door behind her as she left, leaving Ilima with his face in his hands.

After many other fruitless attempts at drawing, he gave up and decided to consult Hala on the matter. Being the kahuna, he was also thinking of what would happen when Ilima reached the dreaded age of 20, and being the only captain on the island, he and the kahuna were somewhat close. That was how he found himself standing in the kahuna's kitchen with a mug of Roserade tea, discussing the inevitable future with a many twice his size.

"I just don't understand, Hala. Both of my parents are artists, and we come from a region full of art. I should have the aptitude for this!" Ilima remarked in exasperation, swirling the tea bag in annoyance before taking a sip. Hala just laughed his deep belly laugh, shaking his head at him.

"Not sure it quite works like that! But you still may very well have the talent within you, but you're nearly 18 and you have barely had any experience. Art gets better with experience, and you have none. You just need to practice more," he reassured. "Besides, you couldn't be that terrible."

Ilima only gave him a blank look.

"Well...in that case, have you thought about anything outside of art?"

"Nothing that I would enjoy. Besides, my parents are absolutely giddy at the thought of me pursuing the same career as they did. I have to at least try." Besides, despite his general boredom with art, the fact that he couldn't do it was really hurting his pride. He was dead set on learning now, just to say that he could.

Hala sipped his Komala coffee in thought. "Well...there is one thing I can think of. There's a girl on Poni Island named Mina, and she's an artist. You could see if she could teach you."

Ilima gave him an odd look. "Is she not a trial captain? Won't she be busy?"

"The situation on Poni is...odd," Hala began, and Ilima raised an eyebrow at the word choice in an attempt to rouse an explanation out of the older man, but Hala didn't take the bait. "Trust me, though, she has spare time. But as a warning, she is a bit strange herself." Once again, Hala didn't elaborate, so Ilima was sent in on a blind quest onto Poni Island.

\--

Seafolk Village was a beautiful place, he thought bitterly. He would draw it if he actually had the talent.

The sun reflected on the surface of the sea around him as he walked on the deck, feeling woozy over the idea that there was practically nothing stopping him from breaking through a weak patch and falling into the ocean below. Just because he thought the place was beautiful didn't mean he preferred it over having land under foot.

Hala had given him very little direction except to look for a Whiscash ship. It wasn't hard to find, considering how small the village was, and he knocked on the door before a woman answered.

"Hello, miss, would you happen to know where Mina is?" he inquired politely after looking over the woman once and deciding that she looked too old to be the trial captain he sought for. The woman narrowed her eyes at him in response, and he internally panicked and wondered if he said something wrong.

His fears were assuaged quickly and replaced with embarrassment when the woman looked him down like he had previously done to her, smiled in amusement, and said, "Yeah, why? Are you a friend?" Ilima was taken aback at the implications (he wasn't an idiot, he heard the inflection on the word 'friend') but kept his cool.

"No, I was told she could help teach me about art. I'm trying to learn how to draw," he explained, and the woman grew somewhat disappointed and sighed, leaning against the door frame and rolling her eyes.

"Shouldn't have gotten my hopes up," she mused, but before Ilima could ask what she meant, she continued. "You'll find her in Poni Canyon, I think. She was out doing some painting." With that, she turned back into her house (ship?) and closed the door. Ilima stood there for a few moments before he sighed, tapping his foot in irritation before heading off.

\--

The journey to Poni Canyon was uneventful and actually quite enjoyable in the afternoon light. He managed to avoid most of the trainers— not that he didn't think he could win in a battle, but because it would be too much of a hassle and take too much time —and the rest recognized he was on his way to something important and left him alone. For that, he was grateful.

Stepping into the canyon itself was something far more magical than he expected, taking his breath away despite having visited before; the dying light cast shadows onto the floor and the bare branches of a giant tree in the center grasped at it. The place gave off a strange aura, and though Ilima wasn't an Alola native and leaned more to the scientific side, he knew of the legends surrounding this place. He didn't doubt them.

There was a girl sitting a short length away and he could immediately tell that this was Mina; it wasn't difficult since the girl's hair was dipped in paint and her shirt was splattered with it, and she sat in front of a canvas. Ilima was about to say something in greeting but paused, noting how focused she looked and feeling like it would be a crime to interrupt. He simply watched as her paintbrush glided over the canvas; she seemed to be recreating the scenery and was currently working on the sky.

However, she paused after a few strokes and sat still. Ilima watched in confusion, leaning forward and expecting her to begin her methodic painting again, but she didn't continue. There was an awkward minute or so where it was completely still besides the squawking of a flock of Murkrow nearby— a sign that the night would come soon —before she finally gave a long sigh. Without turning around, she said, "Fine, then, what do you want?"

Ilima sputtered, caught off guard. "What? How did you even know I was here?" he questioned, sounding slightly offended at the irritation in her tone. The blonde turned around finally, staring at him through gray eyes. For some reason, her unamused look was enough to shut him up.

"I can sense it, you know? I can't paint when someone is staring at me." She paused before standing up and extending her hand to him. Apparently, her irritation had diminished as quickly as it came. "So, if I can't get anything done, you might as well tell me what you want. I'm Mina if you didn't know." Hesitantly, he grabbed her hand and shook it; her hands were calloused and rough, which made Ilima grimace slightly, being someone who took great pride in his skin and overall appearance. In fact, he and Mina seemed to be opposites with that, he noted— her hair was disarrayed and dirt smudged the exposed parts of her legs, and paint streaked her face and arms.

He resisted the urge to go wash his hands. "Yes, I know who you are. I'm Ilima, and I—" Once again, he was cut off. Ilima was quickly beginning to dislike his fellow trial captain because of how little he cared for being interrupted. He wondered if interrupting people was genetic, remembering how the woman, whom he assumed was her mother, that had answered the door for him in the village had stopped him too.

"Whoa, Ilima? I know who you are. You're the only trial captain on Melemele, yeah?" she said, and Ilima crossed his arms; he took a bit of pride in being the only captain on his island, so Mina was winning him back a bit.

"Yes, that’s me. As I was saying," he continued, giving her a pointed look that she definitely noticed, shown by how she leaned back and crossed her arms. "I'm here because I heard that you're pretty good with art. I was wondering if you could help teach me how to draw." For some reason that he couldn't decipher, Mina only stared at him with a blank look. Finally, she spun around and began walking back to her canvas.

"Sorry, but I'm no good at teaching people. I don't care for it. Or talking to people at all, really." she said, waving a hand as she sat back down and balanced her paintbrush between her fingers, twirling it, and glancing at him again. "Besides, what's in it for me if I agree, huh?"

Ilima resisted running his hand through his hair in irritation. "You don't need to be good. That's fine, but you're my only shot." Mina stared at him curiously, but he continued rambling. "And I don't know? What do you want from me? I'll get you whatever you want, do you want money or something?" He huffed, leaning against the canyon's wall. Expenses were not a problem.

Mina was silent for so long that he thought she wasn't going to give him an answer and the entire trip had been rendered pointless. Though she began painting golden hues on her canvas, she said, "I want a set of paintbrushes. I really like these ones, but they're kind of falling apart on me here." Ilima looked up in surprise, her answer being unexpected, but nodded.

"Deal. So, what do we do fir—" Mina shushed him once again.

"Not right now, though. Tomorrow. I have to finish this before the sun sets," she said, not tearing her eyes away from the unfinished project she was speaking of. "So leave." Ilima would've been offended by the bluntness of her words if it weren't for the fact she said them without any cruelty.

"Fine then," he grumbled. "How do you want me to contact you?"

"You have a better chance at just showing up than you have with calling or texting me," she mused. "Noon tomorrow fine by you? Same place?"

"Fine," Ilima said shortly, giving a nod that she didn't pay attention to before walking away. He wondered if this was even worth it.

\--

Ilima woke up the next morning wondering if he was excited for his lesson or dreading it. Nevertheless, he got out of bed and got dressed at a bright and early hour, as per usual, and headed to the Trainers' School to get some training in before he had to go meet Mina.

By the time he finished, it was only 9. It didn't take very long to get to Poni— an hour tops, maybe —so Ilima was left at a loss. The only thing that came to mind was to try to get some practice in before his lesson, so he headed back home and began at his desk once more, hoping for some better results than he had received before.

He didn't get them.

One try, two tries, three— they continued until his garbage can filled with crumpled failures. His building frustration soon became too much, and with a groan, he leaned his head in his arms on the desk. He sat like that for awhile before he finished wallowing in self-pity, and when he looked up, he sighed when he saw it was only 10.

With nothing else to do, he figured that Mina wouldn't care if he showed up a little early to their meeting, so he headed to the marina and boarded a boat to Poni.

\--

As he had expected, Mina was already in Poni Canyon. She was sitting against one of its walls nearest to the tree and was sketching something in a notebook, pausing every few seconds to steal a glance at whatever Ilima couldn't see from the entrance, so he walked towards her. He was careful to try to keep his eyes somewhat off her so she would be able to continue with her work, but once he got close enough, she hissed, "Don't. Move."

"What?" was all Ilima responded with, wondering why Mina was whispering and not whispering himself, but he realized when a Murkrow squawked and fluttered away into a nearby cave. "Oh," he said flatly, glancing back down at Mina, who was now gently hitting the back of her head on the wall.

It was silent for a few moments before Mina let out a long sigh, opening her eyes and giving Ilima a pointed look. "You're early," she said flatly, setting her sketchpad and pencil aside and stumbling to her feet, stretching her arms before brushing her clothes off. Ilima noticed with disdain that she was wearing the same clothes as she was yesterday; Ilima's nose crinkled, but she didn't comment on his obvious distaste.

"Not by much. It's nearly 11," he answered, equally as emotionless, which apparently surprised Mina; she stared at him long enough for it to make him uncomfortable before she shook her head.

"Whatever, I guess. We can start now since you scared off the Murkrow before I was finished. Where are my paintbrushes?" She was back to boring her gray eyes into him again, and she must've noticed the expression of remembrance on his face because she let out another one of her long sighs— Ilima was finding those really irritating —and shook her head once more.

Ilima raised his hands up in defense. "Hey, I didn't know you wanted them now! It isn't my fault you were so vague with the details of this!" he defended. Mina gave him another exasperated stare, bringing one of her hands up to pinch the bridge of her nose, just shaking her head in an answer.

"Whatever, I guess it'll wait. Do you have any of your drawings with you?" Ilima shook his head and her hand pinched the bridge of her nose even harder, other hand settling on her hip.

"No, I don't sorry. Maybe because you didn't tell me I needed to bring one."

"Thought it was kind of obvious? I need to see what we need to work on in order to teach you."

"Well, it isn't as obvious to someone who has no experience with art as it is to an artist," Ilima huffed, trying to keep his voice level; that wasn't usually harder for him, despite being prideful and impatient at times, but for some reason, this girl was especially irritating to him.

Mina only gave another sigh. An awful habit, in Ilima's book. "Fine, then," she said, tossing her tangled hair behind her shoulder as she bent to pick up her sketchbook. As she stood back up, she shoved it and her pencil into his arms before folding hers. "Draw something right now."

Ilima drew a stick figure in 2 seconds. Mina didn't find it amusing.

"Could you actually try, maybe?"

"It's less embarrassing if I don't try."

Mina gave him the look again (he was subconsciously beginning to refer to it as The Look, capitalized) and he shrugged and said, "What am I even supposed to draw?" Mina tapped at the side of her head and then gestured to the area around her before folding her arms again.

"Use your imagination, pretty boy. We're surrounded by nature. I'm sure you can think of something." He decisively ignored the 'pretty boy' comment, unsure if he should be flattered by the statement or offended by her tone. But with little room to argue, Ilima figured he may as well start working.

He slowly began to understand what Mina meant by being unable to focus while being watched, or perhaps it was just the fact that it was her specifically watching him. Maybe it because she was a skilled artist (though grungy and aggravating in personality, he couldn't deny her talent) or maybe because she was purely unsettling in nature. Maybe she was purposely staring at him to give him a taste of his own medicine. For whatever reason it was, he was acutely aware of her gray eyes staring straight through him for the fifteen minutes he tried to create something worthwhile.

She got bored eventually. Though he had figured as much, he couldn't help but feel offended; besides, what else had she been expecting from a beginner? He tried not to take it to heart as she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, but besides that, he was grateful for the relief of the daggers that were her eyes.

Ilima was relieved when he finally finished— they must've used drawing as a medieval torture device, he thought, and he wondered why Mina would subject herself to it daily. He reached over and tapped Mina's shoulder, and then pushed it, and then shook it; it wasn't until he finally yelled her name and it echoed slightly off the canyon's walls that she woke up, blinking drowsily and yawning.

When she finally shook off her sleep enough, she mumbled, "Sorry, I get whatever sleep I can get." Ilima gave her a questioning look, and for once, she elaborated on something. "I don't have a steady sleeping schedule, really. And I'm a kinda heavy sleeper once I finally get to rest. It's all part of the art life; you sure you're ready to go down that path?" Ilima almost thought she wasn't joking but a small smirk lifted at her lips. Apparently, her mood had been refreshed with her nap.

He shook his head, not knowing how to respond, before he hesitantly looked down at his drawing. Mina followed his eyes and reached out her hand, snapping her fingers with sudden impatience. "Can I see it now? I'm itching to get that back into my hands." Ilima grimaced, now noticing how terrible it looked in comparison to Mina's artwork.

"Actually, I think I need to add a few more touches," he said slowly, touches meaning ripping out the page and starting all over again. But Mina shook her head, having had enough, and took her sketchbook back before Ilima could even protest.

He held his breath as Mina's eyes shifted over it, taking her sweet time analyzing the detail (or lack thereof.) The area was extremely still and the artist's expression didn't change from its usual blankness until finally, the corner of her lips twitched upward. With that, Ilima's face broke into a scowl and he snatched the book back from her; she started laughing at that. She snorted when she laughed. Ilima noted that to use as ammunition at some point.

"Oh, man, wow. Um…" Mina pulled her knees up to her chest and tapped the side of her face with a finger, looking up as though she were in thought. "I think that's supposed to be a Smeargle? It's…not particularly bad. I just can't believe you spent that much time on that to the point that I fell asleep." Her mouth stretched into a slight grin. "But there's…definitely a lot we need to work on. I mean, art is pretty subjective, so it's good to someone."

Ilima huffed and mirrored Mina, pulling his knees up to him. "It was only about fifteen minutes!" He sputtered when she raised her eyebrows and chuckled again, and he said, "Fine, then, how long would it take you to draw a Smeargle, then?" Mina seemed to grow even more amused with the situation, her grin widening as she took her sketchbook back.

"Challenge accepted."

For a mere few minutes Ilima watched as Mina trailed her pencil in gentle strokes up and down the length of the paper; he noted that she chewed on her bottom lip as she drew. He raised his eyebrows at her in mild surprise when she dumped the sketchbook onto his lap, but she only smiled that lazy grin of hers. Damn her for being so smug.

Her Smeargle was far better than Ilima's was, despite having finished it in the fraction of the time he did. He scanned them over side by side to compare them— while his was all dark (and now smudged) lines that left indents in the paper, her lines were feather light and had been built up. It was a sketch, but still somehow looked far cleaner than whatever he could've mustered.

"Pretty neat, yeah?"

He looked back up and sighed, pushing the sketchpad away. "It's good," he said; Mina didn't seem much interested in what he said.

"You really think so?" It was apparently a rhetorical question because she didn't let him answer. "I feel like it's pretty boring, even if I've always liked Smeargles," she said, accentuated by a shrug of her shoulders, which caused Ilima to snort.

"I'd just like to be able to draw correctly," he said, but Mina just shook her head at him. Ilima noted this and scoffed. "What?"

"That's your problem," Mina mused. Ilima stared with a blank look. She rolled her eyes. "You can't just be doing it because you have to. You have to do it because you enjoy it. And you're not enjoying it, you know?" she elaborated. Once she finished, however, there was a stillness in the air. Mina didn't back down or seem to regret her choice of words, leaving Ilima in stunned silence.

It stayed like that for awhile as he thought about it, knowing full well that this wasn't something he enjoyed, but more like a chore. Finally, Mina sighed, "Don't worry about it. There's more than just drawing, you know. We can try painting or something..." She brushed her birdnest hair behind her ears. "I want different scenery, though. I've been working around here for too long. Can I meet you on Melemele in a few days? I think we'll end up going to the meadow, but I'll just meet you in Hau'oli."

Ilima looked offended. "That's it?"

"You can't force art," she said vaguely. And with that, the decision was made, and Mina was back in her dreamworld once more.

\--

The problem was that Mina had never specifically said when she'd come and where they would meet.

Upon telling his parents he already had plans today, and their persistent poking and prodding, they eventually found out that this visitor was a girl. Then it all really just went to shit.

Their organizing of the house didn't cease until Mina finally showed up. There was a knock on the door that Ilima's mother rushed to answer before her son could even get a word in. Said son listened to his mother's loud greeting with a wince. Despite Kalosian's being deemed very proper and even snobbish, his mother had adopted Alola's hospitality. Ilima wasn't sure if he had.

He was grateful for it now, though, because his mother didn't comment on Mina's grass and paint stained clothes and messy hair, just lead her inside and offered her a Galette. She seemed amused but nodded her thanks as she turned to Ilima. She raised her eyebrows and Ilima only sighed. She laughed.

"Your parents are pretty nice," she mused.

"I guess that's a word for it," he grumbled.

"You should be more like them."

Before Ilima could bite back, his mother came in with the galettes, and he wished he could wipe the smug look off of her face. Mina gave her thanks and bit into the treat, crumbs sticking to the side of her face. Not only did she eat it, but she consumed it so quickly that Ilima thought it was impossible; she noticed his incredulous look and shrugged. "Haven't had anything to eat yet."

Ilima already knew what was coming before the words came out. "Oh, that simply cannot do!" shrieked his mother, and Ilima inwardly groaned. "It's 4 in the afternoon! I'm sure you can stay and eat, yes?"

Ilima gave her a look that said no, so of course, Mina said yes with a gracious grin.

\--

Dinner with Mina and his parents had been incredibly awkward. Mostly, Mina and his mother chattered nonsense during most of it— they were hitting it off rather well, Ilima noted with disdain —and they were now onto dessert, the ever popular Lumiose Galettes. Mina seemed to like those quite a bit.

Inevitably, the topic of Mina's artistry came up. She swallowed the rest of her pastry, one of countless, before nodding. "Yeah, I'm here to help Ilima how to draw."

Ilima bit back a curse. His mother gasped. "Oh, Ilima, that's wonderful! I do hope that you're compensating her?" Before Ilima could speak up, Mina laughed.

"Oh, he's supposed to be getting me a set of paintbrushes. Mine are falling apart. I'm sure they'll come eventually." A pointed glance towards Ilima signaled that he better, or else Mina's wrath would befall him.

"Oh! Hold on just a moment, I think I have something for you," Ilima's mother said suddenly, scooting back in her chair before running up the stairs. There was silence as Ilima glared. Mina was unbothered.

When his mother came back down, he was holding a set of paintbrushes in her hands. Mina's eyes grew wide and she glanced up to meet her gaze.

"I used to use these when I painted," Ilima's mother used. "It didn't last very long, though. I was much better at drawing, so these have been collecting dust for some time now. I think they're still in pretty good condition...unless you'd like brand new."

Mina was a silent for a long moment, seeming touched, before she quickly shook her head. "No, um...these are perfect. I don't like brand new things much anyways. This means a lot. Thank you."

Ilima's mother was oblivious to how much it truly meant to Mina. "Of course. The least you can do is to continue teaching my boy how to draw; I hope he's not utterly hopeless!"

\--

Once they were outside, Mina mumbled, "But you are entirely hopeless."

Ilima brushed off the comment. "You and my mom get along pretty well, I guess." Mina smiled faintly, turning back down to the set of paintbrushes in her hand and running her fingers over it.

"She's a very nice lady," she said vaguely, before she paused and added, "Artists just generally get along well, I guess," with a wink.

"Really," Ilima said, unamused. "How'd you even know where my house is? Artist's intuition?" he teased.

"It's not that hard. You look like you're rich. There's a giant home in Hau'oli. Besides, Old Hala exists too."

"Fair."

By the time they got to Melemele Meadow, the sun was setting. Among the flowers, Mina immediately got to work with her new brushes, attempting to capture the golden rays on the golden flowers. She handed Ilima her old ones, to his disdain, but he set them aside and ended up just watching Mina work. It was much more fun to him than actually painting.

She noted this apparently, because after awhile she said, "You don't really like art, do you?" Ilima hesitated, but she shrugged. "It's no big deal. I just notice it. Why are you doing this, then?"

He hesitated before saying, "Well, my eighteenth birthday is in a few weeks. I guess it's kind of early, but I started thinking about what I would do once I turned 20 and I can't be a trial captain anymore, you know?" He paused, waiting for Mina to comment, but she was silent. Her paintbrush stroked had stopped though, so he took that as a symbol to continue.

"My parents are artists. They both draw well. So the first thing I came to mind was art. It was something they would be happy about, and I guessed it would be easy since I'm from Kalosian decent." He stopped, letting out a slight laugh. "Then I realized it wasn't. By that point, I was so irritated that I couldn't do it that I needed to learn how. Even if I don't really enjoy it."

Mina was silent for a little while longer to the point that it made Ilima uncomfortable, but she finally spoke. "Don't force yourself to do something if you don't really want to. There are other things out there, and your parents seem nice. I wouldn't worry about it too much. You could do battling, you know? You seem pretty into that." Ilima was rather surprised with how helpful Mina was trying to be.

"I do love battling, but...there's got to be more out there than that. Besides, what would I do? I'm no good with teaching, so I can't work at the Trainers' School. There's no league here. And we all know who's in line for Hala's kahuna title once he's old enough." He was somewhat ashamed of being jealous of a 10-year-old, but he brushed it off.

Mina leaned back before wiping her hands on her already paint-smudged jeans. "Well...your mother mentioned you studied abroad in Kalos before. Would you ever go back?"

"In a heartbeat." The question wasn't one he expected, but he didn't have to think about his answer. "It's beautiful here and all, but Kalos is so...elegant. But at the same time, it's also really homey, and there's a lot of nature too." He paused, smiling faintly as he recalled the memories. "There's a forest I really thought was pretty. Santalune Forest. It seems pretty basic, but it was beautiful."

Mina seemed to think about that longer than necessary. "Well, there's a league there," she said, and Ilima finally understood her question from before. His eyes widened. "You could continue battling your way up there and still be surrounded by all that scenery."

Ilima let out a shaky breath. "How did I not think of that? Mina, you're a genius," he said rapidly, to which Mina smirked and waved her paintbrush, turning back to continue with her painting.

"I know I am. You're lucky, though. I only just turned 17. I'd give anything to leave," she said wistfully. Ilima glanced at her in confusion.

"You don't like what you're doing here?"

"Arceus, no," she laughed. "Assuming I even do anything. I don't even have an official trial set up. There's a site where people can walk through, but I don't direct it at all. I'm just stuck here." She sounded so bitter that Ilima winced. He guessed that was what Hala had meant when he said the situation on Poni was unique.

"Can't you just leave?"

"And risk Tapu Fini striking me down? Yeah, right," Mina snorted. "I'm amazed she hasn't yet, but she really just is a fickle thing. Refuses to name a new kahuna yet, and it's been a couple of years. Hapu is pretty irritated about it." Ilima held back a laugh. Tapu Koko was fickle as well, but not to such an extent. "I'm trapped in this prison for a few more years yet, unfortunately. I don't even know why she chose me."

It was silent for a couple more moments and Ilima contemplated, but an idea slowly began to bubble in his mind. Eventually, he suggested, "Maybe after you turn 20 you and I can head out to Kalos."

That made Mina stop her work once more, but she didn't say anything. Ilima continued anyways.

"You'd get to see new places. I'm not sure how much you're into battling, but seeing as you don't have a trial, I'm guessing not very much. But as I travel, you could see everything. Kalos is famous for its art, too. You'd like it," he prodded. It would be interesting to have her around, as irritating as she could be. Traveling really wasn't much fun alone.

"...Okay." Her voice snapped Ilima out of his thoughts. "But you'll have to wait another year before I turn 20," she warned. Ilima grinned and nodded, looking triumphant for no particular reason.

"I can deal."

And that was that. He eagerly awaited the day.

\--

Mina's words had inspired him to stop pursuing art. Now that he had future plans, there really wasn't much of a point, so he could now just focus on bettering his trial for the next two years and perfecting his skills. His parents were somewhat disappointed about his decision but told him to do whatever felt best to him. His mother seemed particularly upset; when Ilima tried to apologize, though, she just shook her head and said, "I was really just hoping I would get to talk to Mina more again."

Ilima reassured her that she would. Just because she wasn't necessarily teaching him anymore (though every once in awhile she would attempt and Ilima would fail to catch on), but they were still rather close. The other day when Ilima had been on his way to his trial site a Smeargle jumped out of the grass. Mina had previously mentioned that she had always wanted a Smeargle but had never come across one in all her years, so Ilima was quick to catch it for her.

Next time they met, he gave it to her. The look on her face was priceless. Mina herself was moody, and it seemed this Smeargle was as well, and they both adored painting. It was a perfect match. However, it hadn't seemed too keen on battling, so Mina vowed she wouldn't use it. Besides, it wasn't like she did much battling anyways.

She had looked up, her face paint-streaked as ever and grinned. "Wow, your family really spoils me, huh?" The Smeargle hummed as if it were agreeing.

He hadn't seen much of her since then, unfortunately. A few days before his birthday, he decided to pay a visit to Poni Canyon in the late afternoon and found her painting away on a canvas. She had paused when he set foot and looked back. "You can't try to sneak up on me, Ilima."

He didn't comment. "What are you working on?" Hastily, she threw a cover on her work, before carefully checking to see if it had smudged. Apparently it hadn't, because she let out a sigh of relief before she turned on Ilima.

"You. Get out."

Ilima looked offended. "Why? Did I do something wrong?"

"No," she said impatiently. "But what I'm working on is very secret. I'll show you once it's ready."

She had shooed him out of the canyon after that point, leaving Ilima confused.

\--

It was his 18th birthday.

His parents were fussing about the house, taking the same motions as they had before Mina had come over the first time. The kahunas (meaning Olivia and Hala; Poni was vacant and Nanu didn't bother associating with his coworkers) would be coming over alongside some trial captains to celebrate. Ilima didn't care much. He really just wanted to talk to Mina; it had been a few days and he had somehow grown from disliking her moody personality to connecting really well with her.

He wondered if she would even come. She may still be working hard on whatever piece she was painting, and it wasn't unlike Mina to put art before anything. Still, he felt a twinge of disappointment at that.

It was assuaged, though, when Mina knocked on the door to his house a few hours before the party began before she lugged in a giant canvas. Ilima noted that it was about the same size as the canvas he had seen Mina working on before.

He placed his hands on his hips. "You decided to come. Early, at that."

Mina's lips curled up into an amused grin, but she had the decency to at least try to look apologetic. "Sorry. It was very important that I got this finished without getting distracted. Besides, I wouldn't miss your 18th birthday; who do you think I am?"

Ilima gave her a look.

"Okay, fine. But this is for you. I promise it was all worth it." Ilima continued to give her The Look, almost perfectly mimicking The Look that Mina gave him all the time now, before he slowly pulled the sheet off of the canvas, jaw immediately dropping.

It was Santalune Forest. Not only that, but it looked unbelievably realistic; detail was carved into each leaf and corner, the shading perfectly done to show sunlight peaking through the leafy canopy. Fletchling hovered above the ground or perched on branches, every feather a singular brush stroke.

It was beautiful. It was heartfelt.

He looked back up to Mina, jaw still hanging. She didn't look embarrassed whatsoever. "I remember you telling me you liked Santalune Forest, but you said it seemed basic. I looked up some pictures of it. It isn't. There's a lot of life there."

Ilima was still silent. It was then Mina began to look panicked.

"Do you...like it?"

"Like it?" Ilima breathed. "It's perfect. How long did this take?"

Mina shrugged, tugging at her hair; he noticed that she seemed to have finally cleaned the paint out, though it probably wouldn't be long before it was crusted over again with vivid colors. "Not that long, but I worked through a lot of nights too. It took a lot of coffee. And also making sure that coffee didn't make my hand shake." She grinned wider. "I'm glad you like it. I hope you think of it and you're reminded of where we get to go. I'm excited to get to see it in person."

He hung it up on the wall and every day, as he passed it, he silently marked another day until he got to go to Kalos again.

**Author's Note:**

> This is kinda lame and the ending was rushed and not as great, since I did it months after this idea hit me. Also, the second half isn't proofread, so if it's really bad I apologize profusely.  
> Thanks for reading my dumb headcanons, my tumblr is hapufini.tumblr.com :)


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